


Pennies and Gasoline

by InkStainsOnMyHands



Category: Big Hero 6 (2014)
Genre: Christmas Angst, Horror, Implied Sexual Content, M/M, Mild Gore
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-25
Updated: 2014-12-25
Packaged: 2018-03-03 12:59:32
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 854
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2851592
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/InkStainsOnMyHands/pseuds/InkStainsOnMyHands
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>What Hiro didn’t know, what Tadashi wouldn’t allow him to know, was that his preoccupation with the holiday season had nothing to do with the death of their parents, as some had theorized, but everything to do with his duty to keep his brother safe from the demons that lurked at night.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Pennies and Gasoline

**Author's Note:**

> Merry Christmas, everyone! I give you the present of a creepypasta inspired fic! 
> 
> Please don't hate me too much.

Tadashi Hamada hated Christmas. 

It hadn’t always been that way. Before his ninth winter, he had woken up every Christmas morning with a whimsical wonderment in his eyes and a bright smile. His excitement would flow through his fingers as he unwrapped his presents with a childish furver. Hot cocoa would be drunk without precaution, and although it burned the skin of his tongue, he worshipped the chocolatey substance zealously without complaint. He used to shovel Christmas dinner as though it would be his last meal, which was so unlike Tadashi’s normal demeanor that it was more endearing than disgusting. When the magic of the day would die down as the sun’s spell spilled behind the horizon, Tadashi would comfort his sorrows by wrapping a blanket around him and his brother as they watched animated Christmas specials until they were put to bed. 

Then, suddenly, the innocence of the day was purged, leaving behind an older brother who pulled the holiday decorations from the wall and placed the ornate tree in the compost pile the moment December 26th began. 

He never spoke about it, and no one ever pestered him for an answer. As far as anyone was concerned, he was perfectly pleasant aside from his cordial yet clipped wishes for those around him to have a “Merry Christmas”. The only other sign that he was bothered was the lethargy he displayed throughout the day, as though he were dragging his body parts through tar. 

The only person who had any semblance of a clue as to Tadashi’s peculiarities over the holiday was Hiro. Each year, the younger Hamada would wake up in the middle of the night, just as Christmas Eve faded into Christmas Day, only to find his elder brother awake in his bed. Each time he caught him, there was always a tension in the space between Tadashi’s eyebrows and the lines of his frown. 

What Hiro didn’t know, what Tadashi wouldn’t allow him to know, was that his preoccupation with the holiday season had nothing to do with the death of their parents, as some had theorized, but everything to do with his duty to keep his brother safe from the demons that lurked at night. He would do anything to keep himself awake the night between the 25th and the 26th to ward away anyone who would do his little brother harm: play video games, read books, watch movies, and, when he and Hiro had become much older, attempt to make love to him for as long as possible. Those sessions always prompted the same playful, “What has gotten into you?” which Tadashi never answered, for the exception of a particular harsh nip at his neck or thrust inside of him. 

Tadashi couldn’t give the answers that Hiro desired, but it was for the best. He couldn’t let him know the truth. 

Just before the second Christmas they would spend without their parents, Aunt Cass decided to distract the Hamada brothers from the sorrow of the event by taking them to visit the Santa stationed at the mall. Tadashi didn't remember very many details about that day, but for the one that would forever chill him to the bone: the mall Santa's breath smelled like putrid cinnamon and metal. The scent permeated through his words as he asked Tadashi what he had wanted for Christmas. When Tadashi asked for a game console, while sitting uncomfortably still on his lap, the Santa stated simply, "Okay, but I'll have to eat your little brother first."

Thinking back on the event, as he was forced to relive the nightmare every time he walked by fabricated tinsel and harsh illuminations, Tadashi knew he must have been hysterical after the conversation. He couldn’t exactly remember the exchange between himself and the man claiming to be Santa, but by the way a cold dread had snaked down his spine after seeing presents under the tree for himself that year, he knew that he must have bargained to never, ever again ask for gifts from old Saint Nick in exchange for his little brother’s safety. It seemingly worked; the bumps he would hear the night before Christmas were ordinary in origin, and Hiro would always awaken alive, healthy and intact. 

Nevertheless, he would never forget the dreaded Christmas that fell only a few days after meeting the man who cruelly ripped away his holiday spirit. He had stepped outside in response to a scream from his neighbor and came upon a preset addressed to him, although there was no physical sign of anyone else in the vicinity. The wrapping paper was a delightful shade of green, and the bow was a bright, beautiful red. Despite the cheerfulness of the box, Tadashi trembled as his curiosity compelled him to open the gift. Slowly, as his heart drummed against his rib cage and his lungs burned for more oxygen than could be supplied, he untied the bow and lifted the lid. Inside, tiny chewed-up bones laid beneath a card that read : he knows when you’ve been bad or good. 

The woman next door never did find her son.


End file.
